How to Find "Lift Bridge Brewing" at the MN State Fair

 Lift Bridge brewing came out with a comprehensive list of where you can find their drinks (both alcoholic and soda-based) at the upcoming MN State Fair. They posted this on their Facebook page:

You can find more info and a complete list on their website - and I love the designs of these "posters!"

Dr. Pepper and Rum Chata

In more than 1 recent "viral" video, I've heard that mixing Dr. Pepper and coconut Rum Chata is supposed to be delicious. My Mom is a huge fan of "regular" Rum Chata, so I grabbed a mini coconut bottle of Rum Chata before a recent family vacation. I paired that with a Diet Dr. Pepper we got from the convenience store near our rented cabin:

On the counter in our cabin.

As a mixed drink. It's hard to tell because of the line in the glass, but the top 1/3 is all frothy head!

It came as no surprise that this was delicious! I've had regular Rum Chata a few times with my Mom (which is good mixed with chocolate milk or root beer, or good on its own over ice), but never the "coconut" Rum Chata. The coconut Rum Chata had a bit of a sunscreen vibe to it (many coconut flavored things have that vibe to me), but it was very smooth and tasty mixed with Dr. Pepper! It was a creamy and easy-to-drink mixed drink! I think I'll bring this combo around more often when I'm together with my Mom.

Vodka Spritz Fresca Mixed Grapefruit Citrus: a 'Hard' Fresca

My sister-in-law handed me one of these when we were on a family camping trip recently:

Brand: Fresca Mixed Grapefruit Citrus.

Origin: Daleville, VA.

Purchase Place: Unknown (somewhere in SW WI).

Sweetener: Unknown (I can't stand alcohol labels with how much they don't have to have on it).

Review: This was dangerous. It was crisp and refreshing like a Fresca... like a non-alcoholic Fresca. You could easily have too many of these! It tastes like a regular Fresca with just a SLIGHT bite of alcohol. Fresca is already one of those sodas that could mix will with booze, and they're doing it well with this drink. If you're interested in any of what I'm writing here, you'll be happy if you grab a few of these!

Score: 8 out of 10.

Mike's Hard Black Cherry Lemonade

It's been a long time since I reviewed an adult beverage. But I grabbed this when I was getting some wine for my wife for Christmas, and then I cracked into it last night:

Brand: Mike's Hard Black Cherry Lemonade.

Origin: Waddell, AZ.

Purchase Place: Total Wine, Roseville, MN.

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup and Cane Sugar (not on the label because it's booze).

Review: This is considered a "beer" or a beer-like drink, but tastes NOTHING like beer (which is good as I don't care for beer). It's not as overly sweet as I was afraid it was going to be. There's a pretty deep "black cherry" flavor with just a bit of tartness that's supposed to be the "lemonade" flavor. This went down easy and was quite tasty. Sure, a wussy drink, but I'll have it any day.

Score: 7.5 out of 10.

Briar's Lemonade Swirl

I opened this last night, not knowing with flavor "lemonade swirl" really was:

Brand: Briar's Lemonade Swirl.

Origin: South Brunswick, NJ.

Purchase Place: "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store," Jordan, MN.

Sweetener: Invert Sugar.

Review: I picked up 2 bottles of Briar's, and I didn't really enjoy the last one, so this was a big test for the brand. 

I'm happy to report that this one is better! It's a very unique flavor that's a mix of something like a "lemonade cream" (being very smooth for a lemon soda) and a classic "lemon sour" that you'd consider putting in a mixed drink. 

In fact, I got out some of my favorite "Elderflower Liqueur" (Cote Jolie brand) and mixed it 1 parts elderflower to 2 parts lemonade swirl and it was DELICIOUS. 

So if the idea of a smooth and almost creamy lemonade appeals to you (or if you think that sounds good in a mixed drink), then give this "lemonade swirl" a try!

Score: 8 out of 10.

Spring Grove Soda Recipes

Spring Grove Soda posted this on their Facebook page earlier today:

Some of these I want to try! I'm not real big on alcohol, but my Mom likes RumChata, so that last one could sound good to the both of us! And "cinnamon roll" sounds good to me as well. As does "cream puff."

Soda Can Bracelets

Some fun "jewelry" if you're REALLY into soda...

This seems dangerous; wouldn't there be a lot of sharp edges here?

Review of 4 Hard Sodas: Not Your Mom's, Henry's, Strongbow, and Coney Island

Here's my second an final "mini review" of some hard sodas / flavored beers that I picked up at Total Wine:

All the bottles from a few months ago, but this review is just for 4 of the 9.

Here's my review of the final 4 (in the order that I drank them):

Not Your Mom's Apple Pie: This was a beer flavored with vanilla and apple juice, which sounded good to me. It's rare that my wife and I have the same reaction to a drink, but this one was the exception. My wife's quote after taking a sip: "Mmmmm, oh that's goooo... wait, OH NO!" Yep, I had the same thought. It's a very sweet apple pie flavor initially, but then there's a HARD hit of over-the-top cinnamon. I see what they're going for (it's like a super rich pie crust flavor), but it's quite literally 10x what it needs to be. It was nearly undrinkable.  Score: 2.5 out of 10.

Henry's Hard Cherry Cola: I liked this. It was just a little malty and not too "beer-y." And it had just a good cherry cola flavor. This went down easy. Score: 7 out of 10.

Strongbow "Cherry Blossom" Hard Cider: I'll be honest - I don't remember drinking this one. It must have been OK, but not great. Or horrible. Oops. Sorry. Score: 5 out of 10.

Coney Island Hard Root Beer: Possibly my favorite hard root beer! It had a strong vanilla flavor, and not a huge bite of booze. Still, I couldn't help but thinking if did NOT have alcohol in it, it would have been a great root beer. Score: 8 out of 10.


So I need to try more Coney Island hard sodas, because (as seen in the link below) I've liked them quite a bit - they hold 2 out of my top 3 scores for these 9 beverages.

If you missed it, here's the review of the first 5 of these hard sodas/ciders.

First 5 Hard Ciders / Hard Sodas from Total Wine

Here's my first of 2 "mini reviews" of the hard ciders and hard sodas that I recently picked up at Total Wine:

All the bottles from last month, but this review is just for 5 of the 9.

Here's my review of my first 5 (in the order that I drank them):

Strongbow "Honey" Hard Apple Cider: This was very sweet and crisp. It was almost just apple cider with a bit of a boozy taste. I thought it was great, but my wife (who has a more refined wine drinkers palette) said it was too sweet. Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Coney Island Hard Lemon Lime Twist: This was stronger on the lemon, and weaker on the lime. So it was quite unique and didn't taste like 7-Up or Sprite. Also making it unique was the smooth finish - it sounds like it could be weird, but the vanilla aftertaste was quite nice. My wife really like this, and I thought it was pretty good. Score: 7.5 out of 10.

Henry's Grape Hard Soda: This was a bit like a grape beer. I don't care for beer, and this had just a little too much of a "hoppy" taste to it. The grape was nice though. If you like beer and grape soda, then try this. Being I'm not a huge beer fan, this was just OK. Score: 6 out of 10.

Not Your Father's Vanilla Cream Ale: There was a MAJOR vanilla smell when I cracked this open (it's made with Madagascar vanilla). The first sip was deliciously heavy on vanilla, but then the beer taste took over and totally ruined it. Again, like I said in the grape soda above, if you like vanilla and beer, then try this. But this was way too "beery" for me. Score: 4 out of 10.

Henry's Hard Sparkling Lemon Lime: This was stronger on the lime than the lemon (so reversed from Coney Island Hard Lemon Lime Twist above), but it was good. It wasn't as interesting as the Coney Island, but still decent. I'll rank this just a bit above average. Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Final 3 Hard Sodas: Jack Daniel's Black Jack Cola, Best Damn Cherry Cola, and Not Your Father's Hard Root Beer

I recently finished my final 3 hard sodas from Total Wine:

Jack Daniel's Black Jack Cola, Best Damn Cherry Cola, and Not Your Father's Hard Root Beer.

Jack Daniel's Black Jack Cola: this was a nice mix of booze and soda for me. I like the flavor of hard liquor, but (almost every time) it's a bit much. This is a WAY toned-down version of Jack Daniel's that has a little carbonation and a cherry kick. This fella thinks thinks that's a great combo. Score: 8 out of 10.

Not Your Father's Hard Root Beer: I still don't like hard root beers. I just don't think that beer and root beer flavors go well together. It tastes like burnt root beer. I thought it was a bit better than Best Damn Hard Root Beer and that I'd give this like a 3 out of 10. Sure enough, I went back and looked at my review of Best Damn Root Beer, and I gave that a 2.5. So Not Your Father's is better, but I'm still FAR from being a fan of either. Score: 3 out of 10.

Best Damn Cherry Cola: this was the surprise of the group. I really REALLY didn't like Best Damn Root Beer when I tried that last year, and I expected this to yield similar results. But the slight beer-y flavor works much better with the cherry cola. It's a very "black cherry" cherry flavor that is really deep. And then the beer-y kick in the end isn't bad. If you like beer and cherry cola, then for sure give this a try! Score: 7 out of 10.


Sidenote: here's my review of my first 3 hard sodas from Total Wine.

3 Hard Soda Reviews: Sprecher Hard Root Beer, White Claw Black Cherry Hard Seltzer, and Seagrams Hard Lemon 'N Lime

I've finished my first 3 hard sodas from my recent Total Wine trip (where I picked up 6 total). I'll do 2 sets of mini reviews, so here's the first:

Sprecher Hard Root Beer, White Claw Black Cherry Hard Seltzer, and Seagram's Lemon 'N Lime.

Sprecher Hard Root Beer: I think this was a touch better than "Best Damn Root Beer," but not by much. The maltiness mixed with the root beer makes it taste a little burnt. It smells good and has a creamy/vanilla aroma, but then it has a harsh aftertaste. Not the best (but as I've noted before, I'm not a beer fan).  Score: 3.5 out of 10.

White Claw Black Cherry Hard Seltzer: I didn't know what this was supposed to be: it's a hard seltzer (I expected "spiked water"), but it also noted on the can that it was "beer with natural flavors." But it was good. It had a slightly malty aftertaste, but it was not very "beery" at all. My wife had a few sips and noted something like "I could see myself sipping on one of these on a hot day!" The black cherry was quite sharp, but I sort of expected that with the carbonated water. I'll try other flavors of this over the summer! Score: 7.5 out of 10.

Seagram's Lemon 'N Lime: This reminded me a lot of Mike Hard Lemonade (pretty sugary and syrupy), but with more of a hint of lime and more of a slight malty beer-like aftertaste. Real sweet. Pretty good! Score: 8 out of 10.

Back with more soda reviews shortly, and the last 3 hard soda reviews in a few weeks (probably).

Soda is bad for you...

Hard Sodas from Total Wine

My wife and I left our boys at Grandma's house after Christmas for a few days, so we got to run "adult" errands. We had to stop at Total Wine in Roseville so my wife could pick up some wine for a party, and I cruised the by-the-bottle hard cider section:

All sold as individual bottles. It's pretty sweet.

These are all hard sodas. There were more on the next shelf down as well.
There were very few of these here the last time I was here.

 In the end, I walked out with these 6 to try:

I heard a lot about "Not Your Father's Root Beer" in the past, so I'm excited to try it.  I didn't know that Sprecher made a hard root beer!  I tried (and did NOT care for) Best Damn Root Beer, so I'll see what I think of their cherry cola.  The "White Claw" is a hard sparkling water with black cherry.  And I have no preconceived opinion about the Jack Daniels Cola or the Seagram's Hard Lemon N' Lime.  I'll report back about these 6.

Here's a link to all of my posts tagged with "alcohol" so you can see my previous reviews of hard sodas and hard ciders.  And here's a post about my first trip to Total Wine to get some hard ciders with my little guy 2.5 years ago.

Henry's Hard Orange Soda

My wife recently bought this for me when she was getting some wine for herself at Total Wine (she's obviously the classy one in this relationship):

Under the bottle cap.

Brand: Henry's Hard Orange Soda.

Origin: Milwaukee, WI.

Purchase Place: Total Wine and Spirits, Roseville, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: I didn't know how an orange soda would mix with a beer flavor. I'm not a HUGE fan of beer. But this wasn't beer-flavored at all. I couldn't make out the alcohol flavor - it was almost like a "gentle" vodka flavor. It was good! The orange flavor was pretty normal/classic, and then it just had a slight alcoholic kick at the end of each sip. I may have to try the other Henry's Hard Soda flavors!

Score: 7.5 out of 10.

Hard Root Beer Float (Best Damn Root Beer)

Last month, I tried the new hard root beer "Best Damn Root Beer," and I really didn't care for it. But I promised that I'd try it as a root beer float because that could be better. And I was right. Barely.

NOT the best (as I noted in this post)

As a HARD root beer float.

I tried this with my soon-to-be brother-in-law Matt. Neither of us LOVE beer, so admittedly, we're maybe not the best reviewers of a root beer / beer hybrid. We didn't care for the root beer float that much. It was OK with bites of the ice cream, but neither of us drank the creamy hard root beer that was left once the ice cream was gone. It had a odd sharpness to it that was no good. I initially gave Best Damn Root Beer a 2.5 out of 10, and I'd have to give this root beer float at 3 out of 10. Still not good.

Score: 3 out of 10.

(Here's my initial review of Best Damn Root Beer if you missed it.)

Best Damn Root Beer

I've been seeing billboards like this around the Metro area for the last 2 months or so:

My wife and I were at the liquor store a few nights ago, and we saw a 6-pack, so we picked it up so I could try it.

If you're wondering, YES it's "hard" root beer. It's 5.5% alcohol.


Brand: Best Damn Root Beer.

Origin: St. Louis, MO.

Purchase Place: Marshall Liquors, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Nothing? I'm unsure on this. (Beer is labeled much differently than soda, and everyone online is mentioning they can't find an ingredients list for this.)

Review: It smelled good. The first sip had GOOD (classic) root beer flavor on my tongue. But then the yeastiness of the beer took over, and it ended with not a great flavor. There was a nice amount of vanilla flavor (and on the can it mentions that it's "ale aged on vanilla beans"), but that didn't make up for much. It was an odd flavor combo of root beer and beer that I didn't care for at all. The beer added a strange "bite" to the root beer.

I'm not a big beer fan, so that may be why I was less interested in this. But even on Beer Advocate, it's not getting good reviews and is currently ranked "poor" at 68 out of 100. One reviewer said "it tasted like someone took a cheap light beer and squirted some of that artificial "rootbeer-barrel candy" flavoring into it."

My wife mentioned it could make a good root beer float, so I may have to try that with some of the remaining 5 cans. The Best Damn Root Beer website has some recipes on it, so we might have to give a few of those a try. I'll update if/when I do. But for the time being, this score is just based on the Best Damn Root Beer by itself.

Score: 2.5 out of 10.

General Mills to start making "Wheaties Beer"

So this is about to become a thing:

Image source.

Fulton Brewery across the river in Minneapolis will soon be making Wheaties beer. They're scheduled to start selling it on the 26th of August. Here's an excerpt from the General Mills blog:

“We were intrigued from the get-go on this idea for many reasons, including that we’re both Minneapolis companies, and that the beer and the cereal both started from the same place in terms of raw ingredients and the same city,” says Ryan Petz, president and co-founder of Fulton.

I'll let you know if/when I try it!

Image source.

National Root Beer Float Day!

TODAY is "National Root Beer Float" day. If you need an excuse to crack open a root beer, this is it.

I found an article online sharing 5 "grown up" versions of root beer floats to try today.  SPOILER ALERT: it's basically just adding different shots to your root beer float.  But click here to check out the article to try something different.  Happy ROOT BEER FLOAT Day!

The "root canal float" seen in this article.

Minnesota Loon Juice Honey Crisp Hard Cider

I reviewed some hard ciders and flavored beers at the end of last year. I'm totally not making this into a beer or hard cider blog, but I tried this the other night (mainly because it was cheap and it was local) and thought I'd share:

It wasn't the best ever, but the carbonation was really nice and crisp. Really, the word here is CRISP because I feel like that's totally the best way to describe this. The flavor was OK, but I hoped it was a little sweeter. If I had to rank it, I'd have to give it a 6 out of 10.

Cheap Wine Reviewed By An Irish Brewmaster

OK, so this isn't "soda-related," but it's drink-related and it's pretty funny. And it features our local St. Paul brew.

Direct link: http://youtu.be/840waOfQ50o

"MAYBEALITTLEBITA KIWI."  Awesome.